Pikes Peak International Hill Climb


Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Region	Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
Type	Tarmac
Race Director	Phil Layton
Sponsors	Hankook Tires and TCI Tire Centers
History
First race	1916
Number of races	89 (2011)
First winner	Rea Lentz in a Romano Demon Special 20:55.6 (1916)
Current record	Nobuhiro Tajima in a Suzuki SX4 9:51.278 (2011)
Stats	156 turns, 12.42 miles (19.99 km)

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile and motorcycle hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, a distance of 19.99 km (12.42 mi) over 156 turns, climbing 1,439 meters (4,721 ft) from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway at 2,862 meters (9,390 ft) on grades averaging 7% over historically both gravel and paved sections, however as of August 2011, the highway is fully paved and as a result all subsequent runnings will be on tarmac from start to finish.

The race is on the FIA International Events Calendar and has featured competition from United States rally sanctioning body SCCA ProRally in 2004 and Rally America in 2005. It has taken place since 1916 and is currently contested by a variety of classes of Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles and Quads. There are often numerous new classes tried and discarded year-to-year. On average there are 150 competitors.

1 History
2 Current records
3 Current Racing Classes
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

History

The first running of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb was promoted by Spencer Penrose. Penrose had finished widening the narrow carriage road into a much wider "Pikes Peak Highway." He decided to encourage tourists to visit by creating a race to the clouds.

The oldest current class is the Open Wheel division which has been run since 1916 and has been won by such names as Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, and Robby Unser (the current class record holder, achieving 10:05.85 min in 1994). On July 4, 1966, Bobby Unser won the event overall for the eighth time in ten years. First in the Stock Car class was Mike Sanborn Jr in an Oldsmobile Toronado. ^[1] The overall record is held by Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima from Japan who clocked a time of 9:51.278 on June 26, 2011 driving the 910 hp mid-engined Suzuki SX4 Hill Climb Special, breaking the previous record (set in 2007 by himself) by more than ten seconds. The winning time in 1916 was 20:55.40, set by Rea Lentz.

In 1989, an award-winning short film about the 1988 event was released by French director Jean-Louis Mourey. The film, titled Climb Dance, captured the efforts of Finnish former World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen, as he won the event in a record-breaking time with his turbocharged Peugeot 405 T16.

The 2011 running was the last running of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb that had dirt sections of the course, for approximately 30% of the route, as Colorado Springs is being forced by a Sierra Club lawsuit to pave the road all the way to the summit. ^[2] The paving project is anticipated to be completed by January 2012.

The likes of Hill Climb champion Rod Millen have warned that paving the road will put an end to the race.^[3]

Current records

1994: The Open wheel division record was set by Robby Unser at 10:05.85. He was driving a 1993 ADT/Speedway chassis powered by a Chevrolet engine.
2000: Per Eklund achieved the record time of 11:21.58 in his Saab 9-3 Viggen 4x4 while racing the Pikes Peak Open category.
2002: Bruce Canepa, Tandem axle Semi, stopped the clock in 13:57.83, breaking his year-old record of 13:59.96 in his 1999 Kenworth.
2006: Mike Ryan topped his old record for the Single axle Semi division with a time of 12:43.67.
2006: Charles McDowell set the first record in the Pro Trucks category. His 2006 Ford F150 Pro Truck got him to the top in 14:32.97.
2007: The Mini Sprint record was broken by Todd Cook. He ran 11:37.62 in his 2000 Wells TCE Coyote despite a spin on the way up, bettering his own record set in 2005.
2008: Dave Kern (driver) and Allison Kern (navigator) broke the Time Attack AWD record in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX with a time of 11:48.434.
2011: The electric class record was broken, with a new time of 12:20.084 by Ikuo Hanawa
2011: The vintage class (RMVR) record was broken, with a new time of 12:44.126 by Keith Davidson, in a 1963 Ford Falcon
2011: The vintage class modified (RMVR modified) record was broken with a new time of 12:51.004 by Ralph Murdock in a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
2011: Rod Millen set a new class record in Time Attack 2WD at 11:04.912 in the Red Bull Hyundai Genesis Coupe.
2011: The overall fastest time on the mountain was achieved by Nobuhiro Tajima at 9:51.278. He was in a Suzuki SX4 Hill Climb Special of Monster Racing while racing the Unlimited category. He beat the previous record set by himself in 2007.
2011: The super stock class record was broken with a new time of 10:55.603 by Clint Vahsholtz in a 2006 Ford Mustang.
2011: Chad Hord set the record for the first production electric car with a time of 14:33 in the Nissan Leaf.

Current Racing Classes

Car and truck

Unlimited - "Anything Goes" This class is for anything assuming it passes technical inspection.
Open Wheel - The traditional Pikes Peak race car. These range from Indy style cars to buggies.
Mini Sprint - Small bore Open Wheel category. Smaller and lighter with no more than 220 cu in (3.6 L) engines and no forced induction.
Super Stock Car - Traditional tube-frame stock cars. Must be less than 10 years old.
Pro Trucks - Purpose-built tube-frame off-road pickups and SUV's.
Pikes Peak Open - Cars or trucks that look like a stock vehicle from the outside, but retain little of the original design.
Time Attack 4wd - Production based AWD or 4wd vehicles
Time Attack 2wd - Production based 2wd vehicles.
HPSS (High Performance Showroom Stock) - These are stock performance vehicles with upgraded safety features.
Exhibition Car/Truck- Cars and trucks that don't fit into standard categories. Often these categories feature advances in alternative fuels or technologies.
Vintage (RMVR) - New category for 2008
Vintage Modified (RMVR Modified)
Electric